Newcrest Rising
by Katrina S. Forest
Summary: Windenburg and Forgotten Hollow have it so easy with all their premade houses and established families. But in a desperate world of empty lots, one man tries to put Newcrest on the map. Hmm? Yes, we KNOW it's technically "on the map." We meant in the figurative sense, and-oh, just read the story! It has vampires! Vampires are cool... right?
1. Prologue

**Newcrest Rising: Prologue**

 _a/n: This fanfic is also in comic form on my blog, which can be found in my profile. I hope you enjoy it in whichever form you care to read._

 _#_

The two vampires met just before dawn, on the steps of the largest (and clearly, most expensive) abode in all of Forgotten Hollow. One male, white-haired and conservatively dressed. One female, who looked like she had recently been performing at a rock concert. Mohawk and all.

While Forgotten Hollow was normally a quiet place, tonight it was anything but.

"What do you _mean_ I'm not automatically your heir?" the female vampire shouted.

"Now, now," her fellow vampire replied, "Calm yourself, Gertrude."

Gertrude snarled. "It's Miss Hell now!"

"Ah, yes. How perfectly subtle of you."

Gertrude, or Miss Hell, however one wished to think of her, seemed to sense this wasn't an argument she could win through sheer decibels. "Who else is up for the job, huh?" she demanded. "Answer me that, at least!"

"Perhaps I do not yet know. Perhaps I am still considering new candidates. Or perhaps, as the young ones say, it is none of your waxed bees."

Gertrude frowned. "Vladislaus, nobody says that."

"Bah," said Vladislaus, waving away the correction, "Curse these mortals and their ever-changing lexicons."

The first rays of sunlight began to crack through the dark sky. As neither vampire wished to be lightly roasted with a side of wolfsbane, they quickly brought the conversation to a close, each in their own way. Gertrude naturally insisted on yelling. Vladislaus preferred a succinct approach.

"Well, whoever's up against me," warned Gertrude, "They'll regret they ever crossed Miss-"

"I bid you good day," said Vladislaus, disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Gertrude shook her fist at the empty air. "Wait! Come back! You don't just vanish during someone's diatribe!"

But of course, Vladislaus had done just that. In a blur of motion, however, another vampire appeared at Gertrude's side. A thin, black-haired woman, probably a few years Gertrude's junior. But with vampires, who could really tell?

"Smooth," the young woman said.

"Lilith," Gertrude spat. "Unless you know who else he's considering, get out of here."

"No clue," Lilith replied, very much not getting out of there. "But I'm enjoying watching him play with you. Feeling nervous, Miss H?"

"Not a bit," Gertrude replied, opening an umbrella against the rising sun. "In fact, I'm looking forward to the challenge. Tell your brother we've got work to do."

Lilith smiled. "Sure thing."

And that, dear readers, is how our story begins. And you know what? We prefer the name Miss H over Gertrude. We shall, as the young ones say, stick with that.


	2. Chapter 1A

Ah, so you have returned, have you? Very well, let us get to the story in earnest and introduce our protagonist. His name is Elliot Marshall, and he is easily recognized as he is the only character we will explore in the inner thoughts of.

At the start of our story, we find Elliot making said inner thoughts as his muses to himself about the sheer unfairness of his personal situation...

 _Places like Willow_ _Creek and Oasis Springs... they have_ _everything_ , he thought, mentally admiring the locations. _Newcrest has..._ _nothing._

Elliot snapped back to reality, looking over a lot that was filled not with an aesthetically-pleasing residence, but simply an excessive amount of grass. No one lived in this place, and in his mind, it was the perfect example of everything wrong in his life.

 _It's_ _like... some unseen force has_ _decided_ _that we Newcresters have_ _to build everything from scratch_ , he continued in his inner monologue. _And really, I've_ _tried._

He turned to another suspiciously similar lot. This one did have a house but not a very pleasing one to look at. Imagine, if you will, the very first Sim house you ever built. No, not the one where you slapped together a bunch of pre-designed rooms. The one before that. When your friend had to explain how wallpaper works. This was Elliot's house. It was a simple rectangular prism, drywall only, with a flat roof and basic door and windows. To the right side of the house was a pool with a half-height drywall around it, and in front of the house sat a cowplant skeleton.

Elliot was not very good at building.

He entered the house, feeling dejected. The inside was as depressing as the outside-all the cheapest furniture, only essential appliances, none of them matching or looking particularly organized, aside from the fact that appliances and furniture serving similar purposes happened to be near each other. There were no separate rooms for dining or sleeping, merely a small bathroom in the corner. Elliot at least had figured that much out. He walked to the refrigerator and began to gather some ingredients-cheese, bread, and a small bit of butter. He turned the stove on and assembled the ingredients on the countertop.

 _I guess things aren't all bad,_ he thought, in a vain attempt to cheer himself. _I've learned to cook-_ As the thought crossed his mind, the grilled cheese sandwich he'd meant to turn over in the pan flopped on the counter instead. _Sort of._

With a sigh, Elliot turned off the stove. He sat down at the lone table to consume the sandwich, though it was clearly burned.

 _Someday,_ he mused, _I'm going to make something of this place. Someday..._

A knock came at the front door. Elliot turned towards it. "Come on in," he called.

"Elliot! My bud!"

The door swung open and in stepped Elliot's friend, neighbor, and the only other resident of Newcrest. Kyle Morone. He had blue eyes and dark stringy hair tied back in a ponytail. His face was excited, as it often was, and Elliot hung his head. "Oh, gosh. Please leave."

Kyle did not leave. Instead he entered the house, sat at the table, and began eating Elliot's sandwich. "Now is that any way to treat an old friend? Especially when I've got such a brilliant idea to share with you."

Elliot joined Kyle at the table. Elliot felt for the man, what with a last name like Morone, and largely socialized with him out of necessity. What else was he to do? Talk to plants?

But taking his sandwich, even his burnt sandwich, was a bit much. "A brilliant idea, huh?" he asked. "Like when you thought it was a good idea to build a wall around my pool while I was swimming in it?"

Kyle looked nervous. "Um..."

"Or that time you suggested planing some weird berry that looked like a cow in my yard?"

"But it grew a cool plant!" Kyle objected.

Elliot was not amused. "Dude! That plant ate my girlfriend!" He hung his head in his hands.

Kyle rubbed the back of his head, genuine regret in his face. "Okay. Okay. I gotta re-earn my good reputation. I respect that. But seriously, I've got a once in a lifetime opportunity here."

Elliot looked up, his face is resigned. "How so?"

Kyle flashed a wild grin. "You ever heard of a place called Forgotten Hollow?"

Elliot had not heard of such a place. But he was also speaking to Kyle, someone he considered to be demonstrably less intelligent than himself. He was not, therefore, about to admit ignorance of anything. He followed Kyle along a suspiciously dark path he had never noticed in Newcrest before, feigning the whole time to know exactly where he was going. But as the air grew colder around him, his heartbeat rose inexplicably, and he began to ponder if he really should have remained at home with his slightly used grilled cheese sandwich.

Well, too late to turn back now.

Elliot and Kyle approached what they would later come to realize was Vladislaus Straud's mansion. The season was autumn, just a few drifting leaves in the air, and dusk was starting to fall.

"All right," Kyle said. "Play it cool."

"For who?" Elliot asked.

"Just... wait. But do it cooly!"

Kyle knocked on the door, the sound echoing around them. Vladislaus answered in his human guise. He smiled, looking pleasant enough, if not a bit on the creepy side. "Greetings, children."

"Children?" Elliot questioned. "I'm twenty-three."

"And I am two hundred fifty-seven," Vladislaus replied. "So you will forgive my phraseology, I am sure. Now, do come in." He stepped aside, motioning the two men forward.

Kyle and Elliot walked through the foyer and entered the mansion's main room, lavishly decorated with clear indications of a vampire's home-a pipe organ, a coffin, and The Ultimate Vampire Tome sitting on a table. Elliot couldn't put his finger on it, but something felt amiss.

"Wait a minute," he said, turning to Kyle. "Pipe organs? Coffins? Unreasonably large tomes? What exactly is going on here?" He leaned in closer. "Did you... find a _vampire?"_

"Relax," said Kyle, waving away the concern. "He won't bite. Well, okay technically he's going to bite _me_ , but only because I'm asking him to.

"Huh?" Elliot was completely confused, but Kyle kept grinning.

"I didn't just _find_ a vampire. I'm going to _be_ a vampire!"

For a moment, there was nothing but silence in the vast room. Then...

 _"WHAAAAAAT!?"_

It is neither a kind nor a wise thing to go about a master vampire's home screaming at the top of your lungs. For one, they could have sensitive hearing. And vampires have a reputation for quickly disposing of that which bothers or annoys them. For another, a good scream may signal to a vampire, who is a natural predator, that you are not something to have a conversation with, but rather a creature of prey to hunt and devour.

Thankfully, with his years of experience dealing with mortals, Vladislaus was able to put Elliot's screaming in context and gave him the space and time needed to calm himself.

He also informed Elliot that if he did not cease the incessant noise, he would be promptly turned into a plasma pack. Or three.

Elliot quickly found his wits after this, and the trio sat at Vlad's excessively large dining room table, where they enjoyed a late evening meal together. Or least, the mortals did. Vladislaus helped himself to a drink from the bar.

"Sorry, for, erm... my outburst," Elliot said, staring down at his salad.

"It's okay," said Kyle. "Lemme explain. See, the other day, I was going for a walk, and this girl asks me if she can drink my plasma. And I'm like, 'Cool! You're a vampire! I wanna be a vampire, too!' And now, here we are!"

Elliot nodded. "Strangely enough, that's one of your better explanations." He turned to the head of the table.

Vladislaus swirled a glass of what appeared to be wine. "There are many benefits, as I've already explained to your friend. Tell me, have you ever wished you could travel somewhere instantaneously?"

Elliot recalled nearly drowning in his half-walled-in pool.

"Or perhaps," Vladislaus went on, "you desire to improve certain skills more efficiently?"

Elliot recalled flopping his burnt grilled cheese sandwich out of the pan.

His dismay was not lost on Vladislaus. "With these powers, you can ensure you will never lose anything...or anyone...ever again."

This brought up memories for Elliot that were more painful than failed cooking attempts or even brushes with a watery death. Kyle, oblivious to the somber tone the conversation had taken, thrust his hand into the air. "Oo! I wanna never lose anything again! C'mon, Mr. Straud! Bite me!"

Vladislaus looked annoyed and continued speaking to Elliot as if Kyle was not there. "Your friend was... enthusiastic about having an audience. I appreciate your coming along to humor him." He stood up from the table. "This will only take a moment."

With that, the vampire changed to his dark form in a puff of black smoke. He approached Kyle and began to hypnotize him, even as Kyle was giddy with excitement. Once Kyle had become completely dazed, Vladislaus bit into his neck and slurped loudly, much to Elliot's discomfort. Vladislaus then held out his wrist, Kyle taking it in his hands. Elliot found himself unnerved and yet not completely disgusted, either. In moments, Kyle came to, confused but excited.

"Whoa," he breathed. "That was epic. Am I vampire now? Oo! I gotta go see if I burn in the sun!"

Kyle rushed past a bored-looking Vladislaus and a cringing Elliot, who both turned to look at each other.

"He knows it's past dusk, right?" Elliot asked.

"He would be safe either way," Vladislaus replied. "A full transformation will take a few days. You two are welcome to share my home in the meantime."

Elliot smiled. The beautiful, if odd, mansion was a considerable improvement over his usual accommodations. "Oh. Yes. That is, thank you. I think we will."

Vladislaus was smiling as well, though a keen observer would say it may or may not have been with good intentions.

#

 _a/n: I'm labeling this as Chapter 1A, as there is more that happens in chapter 1 in the comic version. I will post the remainder of chapter 1 in a couple weeks. It may be the last update for this fic on ff dot net for a while. The story will continue, but it's becoming a bit much for me to produce both a text-only form and a comic form in a timely manner. The comic is available both on my website and on Archive of Our Own, under the username RowanandKatrina. I will try to come back to the written version of this fic, but if you really want to follow the story, I recommend checking it out on one of the other sites mentioned. Thanks for reading!_


	3. Chapter 1B

Elliot had to admit, when Vladislaus was not directly threatening his life, he was every bit the gracious host. Of course, Elliot lived in a drywall house with a dead cowplant on the smallest lot in Newcrest, so he had not attended many upscale social events to compare this one to. But based on the limited information he had, Vladislaus seemed not evil so much as merely a misunderstood loner.

Vladislaus was most careful to keep his maniacal laughter to himself.

Within two days, the men had developed a good friendship, and Elliot would be lying if he said he didn't feel a bit envious of the power Kyle would soon have. For now, Vladislaus, Elliot, and Kyle were spending some time in Vladislaus's sitting room. Vladislaus and Elliot were reading in adjacent seats, while Kyle took a seat farther back, eating a sandwich and turning his nose up in disgust at the first bite.

"Aw, man," he said. "This tastes awful... I'm gonna take another bite!"

Elliot looked up from his book. "Thank you again for hosting us," he said to Vladislaus.

The vampire paused his own reading. "My pleasure. Though curiosity begs the question-what do you plan to do when you leave?"

"I don't know," Elliot admitted. "It's weird thinking of Kyle as a vampire. I mean, I always thought vampires were crazy, bloodsucking monsters."

Kyle swallowed his second bite of sandwich and grimmaced. "Nope. Still gross."

Vladislaus closed his book and turned to Elliot. "It's not an unearned reputation. Though I myself have mellowed a bit over the years."

Elliot sighed. "I guess, all these powers... In some ways, it seems a bit too easy, you know?"

Vladislaus sniffed in annoyance, recalling all the unique issues that came with the vampire life. Vomiting after eating human food. Being stranded inside a filthy park bathroom during daylight hours. But none of these things would push Elliot in the direction he desired, and so he stayed silence about them. "It can take... practice to develop one's abilities," he allowed. "I won't lie about that. But with time, you can achieve far more than any mortal could dream of."

"Yeah, well, I won't lie, either," said Elliot. "I've got a lot of mixed feelings right now."

"Hmm. Allow me to pose a hypothetical question. If I were to offer to turn you..."

Behind them, Kyle clutched his stomach, a purple mist surrounding his mid-section. "Uh, guys?" he asked nervously.

Neither Vladislaus nor Elliot made any visible reaction to Kyle. Elliot was intensely focused on Vladislaus's words. Kyle leaned farther over, clearly in pain.

Vladislaus continued, "...and you knew this was the one and only time I would make such an offer, what would you say?"

"Seriously," Kyle squeaked. "Guys?" But it was too late. Kyle was hoisted into the air as he began to transform, purple and black smoke circling him. "Aaargh! It burns! The _burning_!"

Elliot and Vladislaus's conversation continued without either of them glancing his way. "You know what?" Elliot said. "Yes. I'd say yes."

Vladislaus smiled and stood up, now in his dark form, with Kyle collapsed on the ground. Elliot stood beside him.

"In that case," Vladislaus said, showing his fangs. "I am happy to oblige."

He bit into Elliot's neck, in much the same manner he did with Kyle. Elliot, in turn, eagerly drank from Vladislaus's wrist.

In a few days, Elliot and Kyle could be seen walking away from Vladislaus's mansion, Kyle now in his new dark form. His skin was gray, and eyes were glowing blue. His fangs were his two front teeth, taking away a bit from his otherwise imposing image.

Elliot, on the other hand, preferred to keep his new form hidden for the right time.

And with this turn of events, it seems our chapter is coming to a close. We will allow Elliot to narrate via his thoughts once again to close us out...

 _Well,_ he thought as he arrived home. After dark, as vampires do. _We survived_ _the transformation without accidentally killing ourselves. And for once, I'm feeling really good about the future._

Elliot went to the refrigerator to gather ingredients once again. He began cooking frank and beans on the stove, stirring gently without causing a mess. Or burning anything.

But just as Elliot was feeling at his most confident, there was a _thump_ at his door. He set the food aside and opened it to see who was calling.

No one was calling. But lying face down in the grass was a young woman with short, dark hair. She did not move. Elliot stood at the open door, bewildered.

"Oh, no," was all he managed to say.

People passing out on Elliot's front lawn was not a regular occurrence, and so his concern for the lady's well-being was justified. But as to who she was and exactly how Elliot dealt with the situation? Well, that's a story for another time.

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a/n: The story will be going on hiatus here on FF dot net, but if you'd like to read more (and see the comic pages!), please check out my profile for my website addy or look up RowanandKatrina on Archive of Our Own. I will come back to doing the text-only version, it's just not going to be in sync with the comic version. Thanks for reading!


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